Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February of Question 29769 on Museums, what the cost of the VAT Refund Scheme was in 2024; and whether she plans to change the funding for the VAT Refund Scheme.

Under section 33A of the VAT Act 1994, certain museums and galleries are eligible to reclaim VAT incurred on the non-business costs associated with providing free admission to the public. Further information about the scheme and its eligibility conditions can be found in VAT Notice 998: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-refund-scheme-for-museums-and-galleries-notice-998.

Museums and galleries provide estimates of their likely VAT reclaims when applying to join the scheme, to ensure costs are managed. But they are not required to provide figures on particular costs within their VAT returns on an ongoing basis, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden. The information requested is therefore not available.

Whilst the Government keeps all taxes under review, the Government is not planning any changes to the scheme.